How do I find my first hires?
Hiring your first employees can feel like one of the biggest decisions you’ll make as a founder. Instead of trying to build the “perfect” team all at once, start by identifying the work your business needs most and the skills that can help you move forward.
Indeed can help first-time founders find quality candidates by helping them reach job seekers, identify candidates whose qualifications match their needs and manage applicants throughout the hiring process.
The key is knowing what you need before you start searching. These four steps can help you focus your search and make the hiring process more manageable.
1️⃣ Start with the work you need done
Before searching for candidates, get specific about what you need your first hires to accomplish.
Make a list of the work that is taking up your time, slowing down the business or requiring expertise you don’t currently have. Then group those responsibilities into potential roles and identify the skills someone would need to succeed in each one.
This can also help you decide which roles are most important to hire for now and which can wait. Depending on your needs, you may determine that a full-time employee makes sense or that a part-time employee or contractor is a better fit for certain work.
2️⃣ Be clear about who you’re looking for
Once you know what you need, turn it into a clear job description. Include an accurate job title, the role’s key responsibilities, required and preferred skills, information about your company and relevant details such as compensation and benefits.
For a growing company, the job description is also an opportunity to explain what makes the role unique. Candidates may want to understand what they’ll be building, how they’ll contribute and what it’s like to join a company at an early stage.
Being specific about what you need can help candidates understand whether the opportunity is right for them before they apply.
3️⃣ Choose a hiring platform that helps you find quality candidates
You don’t have to find every candidate yourself. Indeed can help founders and small businesses reach quality candidates with the right skills and experience and manage applicants throughout the hiring process. You can post a job on Indeed and, depending on your hiring needs, sponsor it to increase its visibility to relevant job seekers.
<div class="frich-tip">Here is a $200 credit to get in front of more candidates faster.*</div>
For first-time founders without a dedicated recruiting or HR team, using Indeed to find and manage candidates in one place can make hiring more manageable, giving you more time to focus on running and growing your business.
You can also expand your search by reaching out to your professional network, sharing the opportunity on social media or in relevant communities and connecting with industry or educational organizations.
4️⃣ Give yourself a simple way to narrow the applicant pool
Once applications start coming in, having a consistent way to evaluate candidates can make the process easier to manage. Indeed’s screener questions can help you collect information about must-have qualifications during the application process. Mark criteria as required or preferred to distinguish true must-haves from nice-to-haves.
From there, review candidates against the qualifications you’ve established and decide who should move forward. A straightforward process might include reviewing applications, conducting short initial screens and inviting your strongest candidates to interview.
During interviews, focus on the skills and experiences that matter most for the role. For an early-stage company, you may also want to ask questions that help you understand how candidates approach changing priorities, solve problems and take ownership of their work.
The goal isn’t to find someone who checks every possible box. It’s to create a consistent process that helps you identify candidates whose qualifications align with what your business needs.
Your first hires don’t have to consume all your time
Your first hires can have a major impact on your company, but finding them doesn’t have to become your full-time job. Start with a clear understanding of the work you need done, define what you’re looking for and use a hiring platform like Indeed to help you reach and manage quality candidates fast.
For a first-time founder, putting that structure in place now can make hiring your second, third and fourth employees easier as your company continues to grow.
<div class="frich-tip">Post your job on Indeed today and use a $200 sponsored job credit to give it a boost.*</div>
